A/N: Well… good morning, everyone! Yep, seems we're back to this, posting a day early. Been a while since this happened, but don't expect it to be a constant thing. Because I'm gonna level with you here; this chapter is MUCH shorter than the past several have been. I didn't really EXPECT it to be, but that's the way it ended up turning out. Pretty sure a lot of that has to do with the crazy holiday weekend and just how zonked out it left me, but hey, I'm doing better now and this makes for a good transition between storylines, anyway. A small, relaxing chapter for us to just vibe to, ya know? So, with that said, this is…

Chapter 70: Peace with the Parents, War on Studies

…..

The sight that Optimus Prime was greeted by when he arrived back at base was one that warmed his spark. The overjoyed expressions of his human allies reuniting with their parents, the loving embraces being exchanged, words of soothing and comfort being heard, it was incredibly satisfying. While the concept of "family" was one that he and his fellow Autobots were still growing accustomed to, it was one that he knew was valued incredibly among humans. The fact that Swindle had even attempted to break up such a this was something that he absolutely could NOT condone. However, the very second that he stepped foot onto the GroundBridge platform, every human's eyes were directly straight at him and the other Autobots, right up until the portal closed behind them.

"I take it that no one was harmed in the escape?" the Prime asked, wherein he received several astounded stares from Kyotoko, Mika and Inko.

It was Izuku who answered with a shake of his head. "Nope, everyone's fine, Optimus."

"AAAAAH-HAHAHAHA!" Taro's loud guffaw was enough to startle everyone in the room, their focus shifting straight to him as the Avatar Rangers covered their ears. "MORE than fine!" he announced as he slung his arms across his wife and daughter's shoulders. "My family has been REUNITED thanks in part to YOU, Optimus Prime! For that, I couldn't be more thankful!"

"Hehe… what he said." Momo concurred sheepishly, though she made sure to give Optimus a genuine smile. "But really, I owe a lot to you… ALL of you, for coming to our rescue."

"Ah, c'mon, Momo-chan." Her uncle came up and nudged her with his elbow, now back in his blonde form. "You're the reason why we were able to find you in the first place!"

Kyoka nodded in agreement. "Oh, hell yeah. Your quick thinking with those tracers really came through." The purplette glanced over toward the younger Yaoyorozu brother. "Ain't that right… Jiro?"

"Oh, you KNOW it, Miss Jiro."

That earned a loud groan from Momo as she slumped to her hands and knees, her head hanging low in embarrassment. "MMMPPH! I was hoping you two wouldn't find out about each other! EVER!"

Jiro could only offer his niece shrug. "Eh, what can ya do? Sometimes, these things just happen."

"Honestly, I should've figured something was up when you asked if you could call me by my first name." Kneeling down, Kyoka offered her best friend a hand. "But hey, at least this whole experience confirmed something for me."

Momo lifted her head curiously, accepting Kyoka's hand. "And what would that be?"

As the purplette helped her up, she snickered and gave a wink. "Heh, that the name "Jiro" belongs to badasses." she said… before peering over her shoulder toward her dad. "…For the most part, at least."

"ERK! H-Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Kyotoku shook his fist as his wife and daughter giggled to themselves, with even some of the other bots stifling chuckles of their own. In the end, Kyotoku simply rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Ah, whatever. I know I'm an awesome dad."

Kyoka shoved her father's arm lightly. "And you ARE… but you're kinda dorky in a lot of other ways, so maybe tone it back a bit and I won't riff on ya so bad."

Letting out a long sigh, Kyotoku shook off his daughter's little jab, instead focusing on the more important topic at hand. "Well, I'm just glad that we're all out of that mess… but on that note." He looked to Mika and Inko, who both nodded back before directing their attention to their children. And judging by how stern their gazes were, the kids knew exactly what was coming next. "We need to have a little conversation about what's been going on for… what, over the past month?"

The teens all winced collectively, though to their surprise… Optimus agreed. "Indeed, we do." He craned his head around toward his troops, giving them a new order. "Autobots… leave us for a moment… except you three." His optics landed on Windblade, Bumblebee and Jazz. "You are their guardians, after all. It is only fitting you remain here to listen."

"Yes, I think you guys should go for a while as well." Taro peered over to his team, resting his sword upon his shoulder. "We'll tell you everything afterward."

"Gotcha, bro." Jiro ushered for the other Avatar Rangers to follow. "C'mon guys. I've been wantin' to catch up with ya for a while now anyway!"

As most of the Autobots left, though, a certain pair of girls were stopped before they could sneak out with them. "Ah-ah, hold on." Mika insisted, pointing directly to Ochako and Itsuka as well. "Those girls aren't excluded from this. Where are their guardians?" Her eyes focused on the brunette and redhead, making them flinch. "And I don't just mean their robotic guardians." At that, Arcee and Flare-Up stopped in mid-step, both swiveling around on their heels to reenter the room.

"O-Our parents are… at the police station." Ochako explained. "After that Colossus guy attacked us at the restaurant, Detective Tsukauchi took them in for questioning."

Itsuka picked things up from there. "The Autobot's government liaison, Agent Fowler, allowed us to go on this rescue mission. B-But if we don't get back to the station soon, then our parents will suspect something."

Kyotoku tightened his lips. "Well… then maybe we should have them suspect something." He folded his arms as he raised a brow to the girls, who shrunk back under his gaze. "The fact that our own children lied is bad enough, but the fact that there are MORE children lying to their parents is—"

"Under MY direct order." Optimus chimed in, literally stepping into the conversation by placing his foot between Kyotoku and the girls. "Sir, I realize how important honesty must be to your family, but please understand that keeping our existence a secret to the general public is crucial to our operations here on Earth." His attention went straight to the teens, who smiled up to him in gratitude. "We could not take any chances, not outside of those we trusted most."

"That, I can understand, Mister… Optimus Prime, was it?" Inko stepped forward, the stout woman surprisingly serious despite the significant difference in stature. "But for the life of me, I cannot fathom how you could even condone allowing these children to join you in your war with these Decepticon people! Hero work is one thing, but a WAR?!"

Izuku went to raise a hand. "M-Mom, please, let me explain—"

But Inko rounded about on him, thrusting a finger in his face as tears started to well up in her eyes. "Young man, do NOT try to make excuses for them! The fact that you lied to your own MOTHER is bad enough, but you know exactly how I feel about you getting into these dangerous situations! I don't know how much more my heart can take!"

There was a momentary pause after that, the room mostly silent aside from Inko attempting to hold back her own sobs. But then… a surprising voice piped in to the conversation. "Ma'am… please forgive me." Inko's eyes snapped open and she whirled her head around… seeing a very skinny and quite frail blonde man standing behind her. "It's… partially my fault that your son is in this situation in the first place."

The whole group were taken aback, the teens most of all. Izuku in particular was completely slack-jawed and wide-eyed… while the adults had no clue who they were staring at. "Um… who are you, sir?" Inko asked.

"A-Ahem, right… sorry, I don't normally look like this. Gimme a moment, I can only hold this form for couple seconds right now…" Concentrating as hard as he could, the blonde man suddenly bulked up and the parents were immediately gob smacked. Before them stood a… rather haggard All Might, his body covered in scuffs, his hair slightly messy and his causal clothes rather tattered. But even so, he still wore his iconic smile. "AHAHAHA! Greetings, everyone! This has officially become a parent-teacher conference!"

"N-No way!" Kyotoku exclaimed. "Are you serious?!"

Yua placed her hand over her mouth as she gasped; "All Might?!"

"That's right! I am here—AAAACKK!" But all of the usual bravado was thrown out the window as Toshinori's body gave out from the strain, practically spewing blood out of his mouth as he fell to his knees.

"ALL MIGHT!" Izuku ran to him first, kneeling down to make sure his mentor was alright. He was followed close behind by the girls, who all gathered around their teacher in concern. "You've totally wasted all of your energy for today! You need to rest!"

"H-Hak! Yeah, you're right… but it was worth it." Toshinori assured, his smile still present even as blood trickled from his mouth. "Putting that croc in his place was quite the challenge, but we managed it."

From the doorway, another voice joined the chat. "Heh, sure was." Jetfire gave the Number One Hero a thumbs up as he leaned against the doorway. "Sorry for stickin' around, but… I felt like I couldn't stay quiet when it came to this whole situation." He strolled back into the room, nudging his head down to the teens. "I haven't known these kids long, but I like their guts. They've shown bravery that not many other species have shown in the face of the Con threat. And for that, I respect and vouch for 'em."

Bumblebee pointed at Jetfire and reiterated the sentiment. "Zrtk—Yeah, what he said!"

"N-Now, just hold on a second!" Kyotoku waved his hands, trying to slow things down a bit. "I'm still trying to process EVERYTHING that's happening right now." He thrust his hands down to the decrepit man who was being helped up by Izuku. "Namely, WHY the hell is the Number One Hero in all of Japan, the SYMBOL OF PEACE, reduced to this… w-walking skeleton?!"

Despite himself, All Might gave a hallow chuckle at that as he was led over to the nearby couch, Izuku placing him down before getting a towel for him. "Heheh… that, my good man, is a story that'd take FAR too long to tell here." He reached his hand up, procuring the cloth gratefully and wiping his face. "Thank you, Young Midoriya. To make a long story short, I had a nasty encounter with a certain villain YEARS ago that left me like this, at least for most of the time. I'm only able to be my usual muscular self for about three hours a day now. …The Symbol of Peace is on his last legs."

That made a collective gasp ring out across the room, even jarring Taro a bit. "…Okay, I can tell that this ain't the time for me." In a split second, the man's eyes changed back to his usual black, signaling his personality change. "Hah… so what you're saying, All Might, is that your career is coming to an end?"

"Exactly… but there's no need to worry. The country will be in safe hands when I do retire… and long after that as well." Toshinori craned his head back toward Inko, bowing to her. "Which is where I should explain something to you, Mrs. Midoriya. …Or rather, we should."

Izuku winced and rubbed his neck, which made Inko all the more worried. "…Izuku? Have… have you been keeping more secrets from me than just this?" She gestured toward Bumblebee, the yellow bot, buzzing sheepishly.

"Well… not completely." Izuku lied through his teeth. All Might had prepared him for a situation like this, and their plan was clear; explain everything while keeping One for All a secret. "What I said was true. My Quirk really DID come late. But… All Might knew that before I did."

"That's right." the Symbol of Peace affirmed, all while under the scrutinizing gaze of Optimus Prime. "Mrs. Midoriya, on the day of the Sludge Villain attack, I saw your son go dashing out to help save Young Bakugo without even giving a second thought. I knew that he must've been something special… but imagine my surprise when I approach him and come to learn that he thinks he's "Quirkless"."

Inko's eyes widened right then and there. "You mean… you knew he wasn't Quirkless?"

Toshinori hummed and continued. "Hm, yes. In fact, he was much like myself when I was young; a late bloomer who didn't discover his Quirk until he made the effort to strengthen his body so that it could handle the power." He placed a hand over his chest. "Somehow, I could sense that quality within your son, and so, I offered to train him. For the next several months since, we trained his body on Dagobah Beach, clearing the trash inch by inch…" He set his eyes upon Bumblebee, prompting everyone else to do the same. "And it was there that we discovered him, locked in stasis for well over two hundred years or so."

Bringing her hand over her chest, Inko processed what was being told to her, finding it almost overwhelming. "So… you're saying that ALL of this happened… just by coincidence?"

"Right." Izuku affirmed, walking over and placing his hand on Bumblebee's foot. "If All Might hadn't helped me achieve my life-long dream of becoming a hero… I never would've met Bumblebee."

"And we never would've found Earth." Windblade added. "At least… not at this point. We probably would've wound up here eventually since we still have an entire lost spacecraft on this planet that we need to find."

"Okay, you had me and now you lost me." Kyotoku deadpanned.

A groan escaped Mika's throat and she shook her head, trying to get back to the topic at hand. "Alright, so this is all happening because Midoriya just so happened to have a Quirk similar to All Might's. That's nice and all, but just how did the REST of you get involved in this?"

Kyoka, Momo, Ochako and Itsuka eyed one another before the Earphone Jack user answered her mother. "That's… gonna take a while to explain."

"We've got all night." Yua assured with a serious countenance. "Now please, start from the beginning."

…..

It certainly took a while, just as Kyoka had said. About forty-five minutes to be precise, but they managed to do it. The teens told their parents every single event that led to their discovery of the Transformers. From Kyoka detailing her first encounter to Momo explaining her own at the USJ. Then Ochako told of her and the others finding out within the first week of school, before Itsuka wrapped it up by recounting how she and her friends found out after the Sports Festival. The latter two girls had to leave soon after that to meet back up with their own parents, though, meaning they were off the hook… for the time being.

All in all, it was a lot for the adults to take in, but they listened to the children recount everything to them. "…Dear lord." Taro breathed out after their stories concluded. "That is quite the tale, to be sure."

Mika, however, was quick to point something out to Optimus. "You know, for someone who wants to keep their activity on this planet a secret, you people are really good at getting yourselves found out."

"…We have been told." Prime uttered with a slight grimace.

Izuku cleared his throat and garnered the adults' attention again. "So, um… now that you guys all know about this… w-what happens next?"

"You're not gonna… force us to stay away from the Autobots, are you?" Kyoka asked hesitantly.

Inko and the Jiros all eyed one another warily, unsure of how to answer that. They had just finished absorbing all of this new information, much of which was tough to swallow. Their children were getting themselves involved in a war and they were concerned for their safety, yes. But on the other hand… they had made such trusted friends and allies in the process. "Hmm… what DO we do about this?" Kyotoku pondered.

However, to everyone's surprise, Taro gave an answer that none of them were expecting, and there was no hesitation behind it whatsoever. "Well of course we're not going to do that!" he insisted, with Yua nodding in solidarity.

"Exactly, we are not." Yua's gaze hardened toward her fellow parents. "After all, at this point, what would be the point?"

The three remaining adults winced, knowing that the move probably WOULD be pointless. "…You're right, Mrs. Yaoyorozu." Inko concurred. "Our children are far too involved with the Autobots to fully separate them. And with those M.E.C.H. people knowing who we are now…" She craned her head up toward Optimus Prime. "Do you think they'd try coming after us again?"

"Highly unlikely." Optimus shook his head. "Doing so would be redundant. They know that you know about us now, and thus they will likely assume that we are keeping a vigilant watch over your families to be certain they will not strike you again."

"Well, I guess that's somewhat of a relief." Mika sighed. "Still… the fact remains that our children have been keeping this secret from us. I know it was under your orders, Optimus Prime, but as parents, we can't let this go without consequences."

The Prime shifted his gaze around to Jazz and the others, all of whom could only shrug. They had just about as much clue to handle this as he did, it seemed. "…I do not wish to supersede your authority as parental guardians." Optimus conceded, much to the teens' astonishment. "If you feel that they are in need of reprimanding, then I will not stop you. But, if I may make a request… if you are to be upset with anyone, please, be so with me. As I said, I ordered them to keep this secret from you and they complied." He bowed his head to the five adults. "Please, forgive my transgressions toward you."

"There's nothing to forgive, Optimus." Kyotoku assured. "You're just trying to keep your Autobots safe, after all." He set his sights back to his wife and the other parents, who all smiled and nodded back. "And as parents, we can understand that."

The sight made Izuku, Kyoka and Momo smile hopefully. "So… you're not going to keep us away from them?" Momo asked.

"Hah, sweetie, they are your best form of security now." Yua insisted. "No offense to Agent Barker and his team, of course, but that Autobot right there?" She pointed directly to Windblade, who wore a sheepish grin. "She is dedicated to your wellbeing, and we could not ask for anything less."

Kyotoku and Mika both looked up to Jazz as well, the father letting out a breathy laugh. "Heh… leave it to Kyoka to wind up with a guardian named after music."

"Hmhm, might wanna reverse that, actually." Jazz chuckled as he knelt down in front of the couple. "'Cause I've been around a LOT longer than your Earth music." He pointed to them with a smirk. "Which, by the way, is super fly."

"Well, I'm glad that an alien robot like yourself can appreciate our culture." Mika said before directing her sights to Kyoka. "Just be sure to keep doing your job in protecting her, and I promise we'll be alright with one another."

Jazz sent them a short salute. "Can do, ma'am."

Finally, Inko approached Bumblebee and her son, the duo unable to meet her eyes at first. "…Hah, to be quite honest, honey, this is all so much to take in." the green-haired woman said as she leaned against Bee's foot, placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "But I want you to know that I'm not angry with you… not after hearing everything you've gone through with him." Lifting her head, she met Bumblebee's gaze, giving him a soft smile. "It's obvious to me that you and him have formed an incredibly powerful bond over the past year."

"…Y-Yeah." Izuku rubbed his neck.

Seeing this, Inko shot him a knowing grin. "You know, it makes me think back to when you were young… you wished you had a brother so badly." The mention of that made Izuku's cheeks flush red, and Bee's optics widened a little. "And, you know, I get the idea that you managed to fulfil that wish. Just in the craziest way I could ever imagine."

Coughing into his hand, Izuku practically begged his mother to stop that train of thought. "Ah-ahem, c-could we maybe save the embarrassing stuff for when we get home, please?" His eyes darted up, and to his chagrin, he could see the girls all grinning cheekily at him. It only served to make his blush deepen. "Don't get me wrong, I like the sentiment, but—"

"But what?" Inko pinched Izuku's shoulder, making him grit his teeth. "You can't entertain your mother's thoughts in front of your friends, hm?"

"S-Sorry! Sorry! You're free to say anything!"

Humming contentedly, Inko nodded firmly. "Thought so. The point I was trying to make, sweetie, is that you and Bumblebee have forged an amazing connection… and I'd be a fool to try and break that up." Once more she grinned up to the yellow bot. "Please, keep watching over my Izuku. He's so very important to me."

Lowering himself down, Bumblebee turned on his radio and replied; "Zrkt—On that, ma'am—zrtk—we can agree." He extended a fist toward his green-haired partner. "Zrtk—We're an unbeatable team!"

While still embarrassed out of his mind, Izuku couldn't deny his best friend's words, and he bumped Bee's fist with his own. "Hah… no doubt about it." With a steady breath, he opened his arms toward his mother and was instantly met with a hug, solidifying the happy moment. "So, I'm guessing this means that everything's been settled, then?"

"Oh no, you're still grounded." And just like that, all happiness drained from the One for All user.

"VERY grounded." Kyotoku echoed, much to Kyoka's horror.

The purplette rounded about on her parents. "W-What?! But I thought things were cool with the Autobots!"

"They are, but like we said, you're not exempt from repercussions." Mika insisted, with she, Yua and Inko all sharing nods. "But consider yourselves lucky, because you managed to convince us to not ground you for life."

Izuku gulped in fear. "O-Okay, so how long WILL you ground us?"

The five parents came to a silent agreement fairly quickly on that. "…One week." Taro asserted. "During which you will NOT be permitted to come here in the afternoons. Rather, you and your guardians Autobots will report to OUR homes so that we can spend some quality bonding time of our own."

"…Bonding?" Kyoka, Momo and Izuku all echoed.

"Why yes." Inko clapped her hands together in approval. "I think that's a wonderful idea. It'll allow us to get a REAL idea of what these bots are all about, after all." She looked to Jazz, Bumblebee and Windblade for their thoughts. "What do the three of you think? Sound good?"

The bots shared a brief glance before sharing their own support as well. "Honestly, I think it's a pretty good one." Windblade concurred, smirking down to the astonished teens. "It's a lot better than you all being "grounded for life", anyway. A week of this is getting off pretty easy in comparison."

Despite their grievances, Izuku and the girls couldn't deny that. "…Ugh, alright, alright… we'll go along with it." Kyoka groaned. "But I'm not gonna be happy about it."

"No one said you had to, sweetheart." Mika beamed brightly as she pat her grimacing daughter on the head. "But we'll do our best to pick up the slack."

Momo crossed her arms and raised a brow up to Windblade. "I just hope you're aptly prepared for what goes on at my home. As you've seen, the staff at the mansion is—"

"Incredibly unique, I know." the City Speaker gave a thumbs up. "I like 'em!"

Taro gave a thumbs up to that. "Good to know! We'll see you tomorrow, then, right after school." Taking a deep breath, the multi-billionaire reached an arm over his wife's shoulder, all while wearing a satisfied smile. "Gotta say, this evening may have been insane, but everything turned out for the best!"

However, that was when Momo was reminded of something. "AH! Oh no!" Everyone's attention went straight to her as she extended a hand toward her dad. "But father, the Camero you were going to buy! What about the auction?"

Much to her confusion, Taro's smile didn't faulter. "Heh… what ABOUT the auction?" He pulled out his phone and brought up the auction's website, where it displayed the 2023 Camero in question… and the successful bid of 8,000,000 yen underneath. The sight made everyone's jaws go slack. "Young lady, what have I told you? A Yaoyorozu is always prepared for when life throws curveballs at them."

"AH! Congratulations, dear!" Yua hugged her husband tightly. "Summer in Italy, here we come!"

"…Damn, wish I had that kinda money." Kyotoku muttered enviously.

"I wish WE had that kinda car." Mika added.

But the rich man wasn't done yet. "You folks wanna ride once it gets delivered to my place? My treat!" Predictably, the musical couple jumped at the chance, along with Izuku and Kyoka as well. "Haha! Alright, calm down. Everyone will get their turn in the Chevy. Right now, though, I think it's time that ALL of us turn in for the night."

Just then, a yawn escaped Inko's throat, and she agreed wholeheartedly. "Hah… I am all for that, honestly. But first…" Making her way back over to the couch, the short woman caught the attention of All Might, who had since laid himself out on the cushions to rest. Toshinori was surprised when she bowed fully to him, and said; "I want to sincerely thank you. For everything you've done to help my son achieve."

Sitting himself up, Toshinori raised a hand. "O-Oh, please, no thanks are necessary—"

"They are." Inko cut him off, lifting her head to reveal that she was once again crying. The sight left Toshinori stunned silent, and a little worried. "I… I'm always ashamed to admit this, but… I was so weak back then. Back when I first found out that Izuku may not have been able to have a Quirk. The doctor's exact words were; "Sorry kid, it's not gonna happen". The way he spoke was so blunt that I lost any sense of hope I had. And yet… my little boy still had a shred of hope because he watched you. He looked up to you so much AND still does… but I couldn't see that hope. I didn't encourage it…" By that point, her eyes were like waterfalls with how much she was crying, and she buried her face in her hands in shame. "I was blind for so many years! I should've been more supportive, but instead I WASN'T! I feel like such a FAILURE—"

"MOM!" Izuku cut in, rushing over to pull his mother into a hug. The others quickly got the idea and left the scene, knowing that this was a very personal matter. "You aren't a failure, and don't you DARE say otherwise."

Inko was almost inconsolable at this point. "B-B-But, I—"

"But NOTHING." The Quirk Inheritor retorted, his features softening as he pulled his head back to meet her eyes. "…Sure, these past years haven't been easy. But that doesn't mean I think you failed at anything. Raising me on your own, even when everyone thought I was Quirkless, I wouldn't call that a failure at anything."

By that point, Toshinori stood up and added his two cents. "He's right, Mrs. Midoriya. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to train this fine young man." His countenance grew quite serious. "I'll be real here… most Quirkless kids don't have it that easy. In fact, some families even go so far as to give them up when they find out they don't have a Quirk. It's heartless… and it's something that I'm glad that you didn't do. It goes to show just how much you love your son."

Choking back her sobs, Inko did her best to hold herself together. "R-Really?"

"Really." Toshinori gave her a thumbs up. "And I look forward to continuing to teach Young Midoriya, whether it be at U.A. or right here at Autobot HQ… once the week gets out, anyway."

That managed to make Inko laugh a little as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Hmhm… fair point. But yes, please, All Might… continue to help my son with his Quirk and with his hero studies. Like I said, he idolizes you more than anyone else, and I'm sure you of all people can help him be a fantastic hero."

Placing a fist over his chest, Toshinori swore to it. "Hm, I'll do my best, Mrs. Midoriya."

"…Inko." the woman asserted. "I prefer people call me Inko."

That managed to take the blonde man aback, clearing his throat sheepishly. "A-Ahem, o-of course… Inko."

With a final nod, the green-haired woman added; "Also, if you need him for any reason, feel free to stop by and pick him up. No more needing to meet up in secret, okay?"

"Actually, that sounds perfect. I'll keep that in mind." Toshinori approved before looking to his protégé, setting his hand upon Izuku's shoulder. "Well, young man, I think it's high time you took your mother home. You've both had an incredibly taxing day, so get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Hah, you're right about that, All Might." Izuku breathed out, ushering his mother to follow him. "C'mon, we'll take the GroundBridge home, it's the fastest—"

"Er… I don't know about that." Inko set a hand over her stomach. "The first trip through left me a little… uneasy." Instead, her sights went straight to the yellow bot who was still there. "Why don't we go in Bumblebee instead? I'm sure it'll be a nice pleasant ride."

Bumblebee wasted no time in complying with her wishes, transforming into his VW Beetle mode and opening his doors. "Zrkt—Your chariot awaits, madame!" Not long after, all of the families departed Autobot HQ, all happily reunited… though there was still a thought that crossed the students' minds;

'…What will the others think of this?'

…..

~U.A. High, The Next Day~

"THEY WHAT?!" Izuku, and the girls were on the receiving end of that collective shout, which was about what they were expecting after telling their friends what happened. Of course, to say that the rest of their group were utterly astonished to hear what had happened was an understatement, to say the least. Concern, shock and disbelief perforated through the whole group upon being told, and of course… Mina was the loudest. "What the heck do you MEAN your parents found ou—MMPH! MMPH!"

Before she could say anything more, Ibara came in and clasped a hand over the pink girl's mouth. "Silence, you! Do you want the WHOLE school to find out next?" They had sequestered themselves to a secluded hallway of the school, but they still had to be careful.

As the information was processed, though, Tenya hung his head in dismay. "I cannot believe this. Those M.E.C.H. people… who do they think they are?!" He clenched his fist tight with a snarl. "Kidnapping one's family is deplorable in and of itself…. but Yaoyorozu… the fact that they did the same to you is despicable!"

"No kiddin'!" Eijiro scowled, smacking his own fist into his hand. "Why the heck weren't we called in for this?! We would've been there to help in a heartbeat!"

Momo smiled softly to the two, raising a hand to them. "Boys, please, calm yourselves. While I appreciate your concern, I don't think it would've been wise for you to get involved…" Her expression faltered when she looked back to the others, who all wore a similar grimace. "Otherwise… you may have gotten into as much trouble as we have."

The group of students all winced at that, with Tetsutetsu scratching the back of his head. "Ugh, yeah, ya got a point there…" He shifted his gaze over to Ochako and Itsuka. "I'm kinda surprised that they didn't tell your parents, Kendo, considerin' you an' Uraraka were in the bad guys' sights, too."

The redhead and brunette neighbors shared an awkward glance. "Yeah, well, I think after the whole restaurant attack, they might've decided to go easy on us." Itsuka concluded. "Otherwise, that would've been ANOTHER thing on top of what our parents had to deal with that night."

"Yeah… but let's be honest. I think at some point, ALL of our parents will probably find out about the Autobots." Ochako predicted. "We've been way too lax with this secret-keeping stuff, to the point it's kinda dumb how often people find out."

"Well yeah, but most of those times were accidents." Denki rationalized. "Stuff that's out of our control! It's not like we're slipping up or anything… are we?"

Izuku shook his head. "No, we're not. But these happenstances just seem to keep happening." He placed a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Almost makes me wonder if some force in the universe just wants to screw us over… but that'd be ridiculous."

Mei waved off that notion entirely. "Yeah, that's not scientifically possible anyway. And besides, if the "universe" REALLY had it out for us, the secret would've been gotten out the whole public a LONG time ago."

Crossing her arms, Setsuna leaned up against the wall. "So… what now? You guys are grounded for a week, right? Guess that means we won't see ya around base for a while…"

"Yeah, but it shouldn't be TOO long until we're back." Kyoka shrugged. "I mean, better than being grounded for life, that's for sure." But then, her scowl returned when she remembered something else. "But on the downside… ugh, you guys might be seeing more of our parents around the base, too, sometimes."

Mina deflated at that news as well. "Oh jeez… that bad, huh? Ugh, great, now we've got MORE adults aside from Fowler cramping our style!"

"Oh, come now, I doubt it'll be that bad." Ibara waved off. "I'm certain that the Jiros, the Yaoyorozus and Midoriya's mother are all fine people."

"Well yeah, sure, but who's to say they'll let us go on missions anymore?"

Tenya, however, attempted to lean toward the brighter side of things. "Well, perhaps it's for the best, really." That earned him several curious—and in Mina's case, baffled—stares, prompting him to explain further. "Listen, I realize that aiding the Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons is a noble cause, but remember; we are flesh and blood, not metal and Energon. No matter what our Quirks are, we are still very vulnerable out in the field." He directed his attention toward Izuku. "For example, did your mentor not break her legs in a fight with a Decepticon, Midoriya?"

The greenette could only shrug. "Well, yeah… but even then, I'm pretty sure she knew what she was getting into. I've learned that Mirko doesn't REALLY have a sense of self-preservation when it comes to fighting."

"Be that as it may, in addition to keeping the secret locked tighter from here on, I believe it would be best to keep ourselves out of the battlefield as well, unless the Autobots request otherwise." Tenya rationalized with a stern eye. "After all, need I remind you that we also have finals in a month, and as Class Representative, I expect everyone to do their best."

Momo was quick to agree. "Indeed, no slacking off, is that understood?"

The 1-A students all echoed a melancholy; "Yes…", with Mina and Denki seemed particularly down at the reminder.

Itsuka made sure to eye her own classmates as well, though she was a bit more chill about it. "That goes double for all of you, okay? Iida's not the only Class Rep who's expecting good results."

"Yeah, we get ya, Red." Setsuna rested her hands behind her head with a toothy smile. "We've been bucklin' down with the studying and all that."

Ibara sighed and rubbed her temples. "Yes… though I may need help with social economics…"

"An' algebra is KILLING me." Tetsu groaned.

"Oh! Well then, perhaps a group study session is in order." Momo clapped her hands together. "…I mean, once our grounding is over, anyway."

The thought made Denki and Mina brighten up a little. "Hey, now that's not a bad idea!" the Electrification user agreed.

"You're the best, Yaomomo!" Mina cheered.

Tenya gave a nod of agreement to the idea as well. "Hm! Yes, an excellent thought. But we can discuss more about that later. For now, we must all get to class before the first bell, so let's make haste, people!" With that, the group dispersed from their hiding spot and branched off to their own classrooms. As the 1-B students entered theirs, however, the 1-A students were met with… quite the surprising sight trudging their way.

To say everyone was immediately concerned was an understatement, mainly because of who it was shuffling toward the classroom. "Oh my gosh… Tsu?" Ochako called out, causing the green-haired Frog Quirk user to lift her head. What they saw made the group collectively gasp. Tsuyu Asui's normally bright, wide-eyed features were now much more exhausted this morning, with heavy bags under her eyes and her eyelids drooped down halfway. Even her tongue was lazily hanging out of her mouth just slightly.

"Oh… morning, everyone, ribbit." Tsu replied before a yawn escaped her throat. "AAAWN… Mph, my apologies…"

Reaching a shaky hand up to his glasses, Tenya was left absolutely horrified. "A-Asui! What in the world has happened to you?!"

"I told you to call me Tsu…" To their surprise, there seemed to be a bit of irritation to the frog girl's usual reminder, her gaze shifting down to the floor. "Anyway, I just… didn't get good sleep last night is all."

"That much is obvious." Mina said as she and Ochako stepped forward, hoping to learn more of their friend's blight. "Wanna talk about it?"

Tsu rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "It's nothing, really… I just began a new training regiment for my Quirk and I've been doing it mostly before school." Her eyes drifted to the side. "But last night, I got caught up with studying and didn't get to sleep until late, so… yeah."

Momo's brows knitted together suspiciously. 'This is probably the least straightforward that I've ever heard Tsuyu speak. Something doesn't seem right.' She eyed her friends, who all seemed equally worried. 'Still… I don't want to press her for answers in this state she's in. Best to wait and see how things go with her for now. But if this gets worse, then I should step in.' Moving in closer to her froggy classmate, she reached out and placed a hand on Tsu's shoulder. "Tsuyu, I can appreciate how dedicated you are to your studies and training, but don't let it get in the way of your health, okay? The last thing we all want is for you to be like this all the time."

"…Yeah, you're right, Momo, ribbit." With a light smile, Tsu reached up and gave Momo's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'll get some better sleep tonight, promise."

"Hm, good. Now come…" Momo reached for the classroom door and slid it open. "Class is almost ready to—"

"THERE THEY ARE!" The sudden shout from Toru took everyone aback as almost everyone in Class 1-A stormed the door, rushing straight up to Momo and Ochako. "You two! Oh my gosh, please, tell us EVERYTHING that happened last night!"

A collective chill went through the team. There was no way they could've found out… was there? "W-W-What do you mean, Toru?" Ochako asked the Invisible Girl.

"Whaddya mean, "what do you mean"?!" Sero called out, lifting his phone for everyone to see. "We're talkin' about THIS!"

Momo, Ochako and the others all peered as close as they could to the phone, trying to make out the news headline it displayed. As it happened, though, it read; "Toradora Hero Saves Restaurant from Terrorist", which immediately relaxed the group. 'Oh, thank god, THAT'S what they meant.' Momo mentally sighed in relief… only to then realize something else. 'Oh god, my uncle is on the front-page news.'

"It's been all over the news since last night." Sato explained. "The footage is all that anyone's watching on TV."

"For good reason!" Ojiro grinned. "That Toradora Hero is amazing!"

Aoyama stood from his desk with a twirl and struck a pose. "Oui! He is c'est magnifique!"

That made Ochako do a doubletake. "W-Wait, there was FOOTAGE of that?!" And then the next second, her eyes lit up. "Ah! Does that mean I could've been on TV?!"

"Oh, you were on there alright." From off to the side, Kaida and Shoto both came up to them, shuffling their way through the gathered crowd. Flashing her phone, the Sauro-Parts user displayed an image that saw Ochako and Itsuka with their families talking to the police. "…But you guys are only in the background." She zoomed the picture out, revealing that it was mainly of Doragoku. "But seriously, what the heck happened? Some weird jacked-up dude really just stormed a random restaurant?"

"And you were saved by someone named Jiro Yaoyorozu?" Toru added, narrowing her eyes at both Kyoka and Momo. Oddly enough, both girls could tell that she was doing that, even if they couldn't see her expression. "Okay, I'll bite, is there some sorta secret blood relative that connects you two or something?"

Kyoka facepalmed and let out a groan. "Uuugh! No, no there isn't, Hagakure." she insisted, pointing her thumb over to Momo. "He's just HER uncle, and no one else's. …Oh crap, did I just say that out loud?"

Just like that, everybody was on Momo like moths to a flame. "YOUR UNCLE is the FOURTH-HIGHEST RANKED HERO in America?!" came a collective shout which forced Momo to cover her ears. "Girl, what ELSE have you been holding out on us?!" Toru cried out.

Tilting her head, Tsuyu was also intrigued by what was going on. "Really? Ribbit, gee, Yaomomo, your family sure is quite the interesting one."

"I'm well aware." Momo deadpanned, shooting her best friend an annoyed look. "Thanks a lot, Kyoka."

"H-Hey, better to rip the band-aid off than skirt around the issue, right?" the Earphone Jack user reasoned.

As the other students practically demanded more information from Momo, Shoto found an opportunity to sneak around toward Izuku and Iida, keeping his voice low so no one would hear. "Hey, did something big happen last night? These other guys may not have noticed, but I saw a news bulletin of strange happenings around the neighborhood. Said something about finding several people knocked unconscious." While the boys visibly winced, it was Kyoka's surprised expression that Shoto really took notice of. Even with his voice that low, it still managed to reach her ears, and her snap reaction was all the answer he needed. "Thought so."

"…Yeah, that was my neighborhood, actually." Kyoka rubbed her neck.

"Hm. What's going on?"

Izuku brought a hand up, signaling to wait for the time being. "We'll tell you after class. Trust me, it's gonna take a while—"

"Just what the heck is going on in here?" The sound of a certain stern voice in the hallway instantly made everyone jump toward their seats, shouting in panic as Mr. Aizawa rolled is way in inside his bright yellow sleeping back. He sat up and unzipped the front, wearing a strict glare as stood. "When the bell rings, you should all be in your seats. Class Rep, care to explain?"

Just as suddenly as he sat down, Iida shot to his feet, standing straight at attention. "Sir! My apologies for the disorderly conduct!" He lifted his arm stiffly as he explained; "Everyone was clamoring for information from Yaoyorozu and Uraraka about what happened last night, and the collective voices drowned out the bell!"

Aizawa wasn't exactly impressed with the excuse, but he didn't particularly care that much anyways. "Hmph… well, at least it seems you're all here, anyway, so that's a plus. But be warned; save the gossip for study period, and always be aware of your peers' feelings before asking politely for information. Subjects like villain attacks—or in this case, terrorist attacks—are incredibly sensitive. Is that clear?" He received a combined; "Yes sir!" from the teens before he went on. "Alright, now, before we begin our lessons for today, I wanted to go over something important."

"Oh boy, here we go…" Kyoka mumbled. "The reminder we've all been waiting for."

As you all know, your final exams are in a month's time." The students were unified once again, this time in a low groan that echoed through the room. "…And, not long after that, it'll be summer vacation." That earned a lot of celebratory noises this time, though Aizawa put the kibosh on that before it got hectic. "Now don't get too excited. You can't just relax an entire month."

All sense of excitement vanished in an instant, with Denki, Mina and Eijiro particularly horrified. "…Does that mean…" Denki uttered.

"You'll be training," Aizawa explained, "…while camping out in the woods."

Once again, the room erupted into celebratory cheers, the students finding their happiness once again. "I KNEW IT!" Eijiro shouted. "Thank god!"

"A big sleepover!" Mina beamed, pumping a fist into the air.

"With fireworks…" Tsu added, pondering how much fun they would have.

"AND SMORES!" Kaida practically roared. "Ya can't forget the smores!"

Momo, however, was thinking over the situation in a more practical sense. "We've been training in cities for the most part, so these will be difficult conditions for some of us."

Tokoyami, who had stayed silent so far, decided to add his two cents. "No matter the environment, we must always stay vigilant. Yes, very wise." Koda—ever the quiet one—nodded his head in agreement, too.

"Hanging out with everyone all summer?!" Toru cried out. "I'M SO EXCITED!"

On that note, Aizawa activated his Quirk, getting everyone to settle down. "However… those of you who don't pass the final exam before the semester is over will have summer school. So if all of you wish to go on this trip, I suggest you study hard. Is that clear?"

Needing no further incentive, Eijiro and Denki both looked back to the class and shouted; "Everyone! Do your best!"

"Tch… this is so stupid." Bakugo grumbled, wanting no part of the class's eagerness whatsoever.

"Wow, Mr. Ray of Sunshine." Kaida shot back from her seat, peering past Shoji so she could peek at the ashen blonde. "What, afraid to rough it out in the wilderness?"

"As if!" Katsuki snapped back. "I've been camping plenty of times!" He skulked back down into his seat. "It's just the idea of going with YOU people is already givin' me a headache."

But Eijiro wasn't about to let Bakugo kill the mood. "Ah, c'mon man. It won't be so bad, I think. I mean, you'll have all the space to blow up anything you want out there? How does that sound?"

Bakugo raised a brow to the spikey redhead, only to roll his eyes away. "Pfft, yeah well… guess that's not so bad."

As class got underway properly, though, Izuku couldn't help but smile in anticipation. The chance to train his Quirk while witnessing his classmates do the same wasn't anything new, but this would be out in a new environment. A place where they could really let loose. 'Last night was one of the hardest nights of my life…' Izuku craned his head back toward Kyoka, the two sharing a smile before focusing back on the lesson at hand. 'But now, I think things are really starting to ramp up for us. I can only imagine what challenges this summer camp is going to throw at us. And honestly… I can't wait!'

…..

Back at Autobot Headquarters, Optimus Prime and Jetfire were both walking into the base itself, having received word from Red Alert of an important call from Agent Fowler. However, the Autobot leader and his second-in-command had been in the middle of an important discussion, one which they were wrapping up as they came in. "So, what you're telling me is that Grimlock is lost somewhere on this place and we need to find him if we wanna find the Ark." Jetfire let out a sigh. "Great, because it can never be THAT easy, can it?"

"Unfortunately, that is indeed the case." Optimus affirmed.

"Surprised it took ya this long to tell me, Prime. I've only been on Earth for, what, FOUR days?"

"I apologize, Jetfire. There has been so much happening that it slipped my mind."

Red Alert jumped into the conversation as the duo came into the main control room. "And while locating Grimlock IS important, I'm afraid that something ELSE has come up." He set his optics up to the screen, where Fowler was waiting. "Go ahead, Agent Fowler."

"Thanks. Prime, we've got a situation." Fowler got straight to the point, catching Optimus' attention. "You remember those stasis-locked Vehicon miners you had us keep here while Red worked on their repairs?"

Optimus nodded up to the agent. "Indeed, the ones that Edgeshot incapacitated back during the Rocky Mountain mission." But then, his optics widened. "…Don't tell me."

"Yep, our "guests" are awake." Fowler affirmed. "…And I'm thinkin' they want some words with you."

…..

A/N: Oh boy… well, things have gotten a bit more interesting. Yeah, remember that plot point I seemingly dropped several chapters ago? Yeah, I decided to ultimately move it up to THIS point in the story, mainly because there were other things that I wanted to focus on MORE and I didn't want to heap too much on the story's plate. But, now that all of the chaos with M.E.C.H. has subsided, we can return to the handful of Vehicons that Edgeshot managed to take down… WITHOUT killing them.

But that's something to focus on for the preview. Right now, let's focus on the here and now, huh? So now, the parents are pretty much in on everything. And thankfully, they seem to be a lot more understanding after hearing their kids out on what exactly happened that lead to this point. …But that still doesn't get them out of being grounded. Though at the very least, it's not THAT harsh of a grounding and the kids aren't gonna be separated from the Autobots, so that's a plus.

Oh, and yeah, All Might revealed his skinny form to everyone in order to vouch for Izuku, so there's that. No One for All reveal here, though, instead he and Izuku give Inko a different story as to how they discovered one another, so that could potentially make for some even MORE drama down the line… for now, though, peace has been reached.

As expected, though, the reaction from everyone else is to be absolutely dumbfounded that this even happened. Though hey, it could've been a LOT worse. At least the entire CLASS hasn't found out about the Autbots… yet. Though huh, more suspicious acts from miss Tsuyu Asui. First she seemed a bit standoffish on the first day back from internships and now she's extremely tired? What could be going on with her? Well, we'll find that out later. Next time, though… well, unlike the show which jumped ahead to Finals Week, we'll be taking our time with this. After all, there's still a month to go, and a LOT can happen in a month's time. AND… there also happens to be a LOT of MHA supplementary material that takes place BETWEEN this point and the Finals, so with that said…

And now, the Preview! Optimus, Jetfire and Red Alert travel to Sector Seven to try and appeal to the Vehicon miners, hoping to try and sway them to their side where their talents will be appreciated. There, they meet one particular Vehicon who's more… unique compared to the rest, and their decision will be the ultimate factor. Will they do so, or will they remain steadfastly loyal to the Decepticon cause? Meanwhile, though, the students of 1-A find themselves in a whole NEW situation that's coming up for them that they have to worry about in addition to finals; Parents Day. As you can imagine, this is familiar territory for some… and for others, it's incredibly taxing. Next time; Raising a Signal Flare. …You'll see what I mean by that next time. Until then, thanks for reading everybody and I'll catch you later! Stay safe out there, and remember…

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!